Professor Bridgette Wessels
- Professor in the Sociology of Inequalities (Sociological & Cultural Studies)
Biography
Bridgette Wessels
Professor of Social Inequalities with main expertise in Digital Society
D.Phil. (ESRC-funded). University of Sussex (2000), MA Sociology of Contemporary Culture (ESRC-funded). University of York (1994), BA (Hons.) Sociology. University of Durham.
I studied sociology and the sociology of culture at the Universities of Durham and York. I then went to the University of Sussex to undertake doctoral research in the innovation and use of telematics - one of the early community-based developments of the Internet and WWW. The sociological study of the Internet and WWW was in its infancy, and I was extremely lucky to be part of an innovative research environment that fostered interdisciplinary research into the WWW in social contexts. After undertaking two Post-doc research projects at the Universities of Durham and Newcastle, I took up my first lecturing post at the University of Sheffield becoming Reader in Digital Sociology in 2014. I founded and ran the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Socio-Digital Research at Sheffield (IRiS). I then was Professor of Sociology at Newcastle University before becoming Professor of Social Inequality at the University of Glasgow. At Glasgow, I founded the Glasgow Social and Digital Change Group, a University-wide research Group. I also lead the College of Social Sciences Interdisciplinary Research Theme 'Digital Society and Economy'.
Currently, I am continuing the main themes of my research by addressing knowledge and power in digital text and content (AHRC funded) that extends my work on digital cultural engagement mediated human and machine learning. I am also currently focusing on inclusive productivity in the digital age, and I am co-lead of the ESRC's Productivity Institute's Scottish Forum. I am returning to a focus on homes and technology, focusing on the balance between human agency and agency within AI, robotics and smart grids in addressing the cost-of-living crisis and energy crisis. This current work is complemented by my role as host for Professor Jane Duncan's BA Global Professorship that addresses state oversight and surveillance in Southern African countries. I am also a founding member Digital Technology and Social Change hub of the European University Alliance CIVIS network. To continue my interest in audiences, I am co-editor of Participations: journal of audience and reception studies.
I have a strong track-record of research funding from UKRI and the EU as well as other research foundations, and I have extensive experience of managing large research teams nationally and internationally. Examples of my areas of research, which has impact embedded in it includes on social exclusion and digital divides, financial exclusion and the e-economy, social media and political inequality, health inequalities and telehealth, welfare services and (digital) identity, local journalism and inclusion and e-policing, ethnicity and communities. I have contributed to research policy by informing strategy, the development of research programmes, and providing recommendations to UKRI, EU and NSF funders. This also includes work on responsible research and innovation (RRI) and open data. My work has had policy impact in terms of inequality and e-inclusion at a global level in South East Asia, Australia, USA, and Europe. I also have a strong track record of civic partnership work that includes working with South Yorkshire’s e-services team, e@syconnects, Swedish regional press and media policy, public and social media communication strategy in Europe, and the development of local services centres in Newham (London).
Research interests
Social Change in the Digital Age
My research focuses the dynamics of social change in the digital age. My books such as Inside the Digital Revolution (Ashgate 2007, Routledge 2016) and Understanding the Internet: a socio-cultural perspective (Palgrave 2010) focus on the relationship between social change and the information society. My book Exploring Social Change: process and context (2014) addresses this further by looking at both continuity and change in terms of inequalities in work, consumption, communication and forms of power. My book on ‘Open data and Knowledge Society (2017, Amsterdam University Press) addresses emerging inequalities embedded within current practices and access to data and the inequalities of knowledge required to use data. I take a similar approach in my book ‘Communicative Civic-ness: Social Media and Political Culture (In Press, Routledge, 2017), which addresses political inequality and civic inequality in political culture. My recent ESRC funded project ‘Ways of Being’ in the Digital Age resulted in the ESRC recognising that research needs to address both established inequalities and emerging inequalities within a ‘Fourth Industrial’ period. Furthermore, my role in the EU funded project ‘Joining Efforts for responsible research and innovation’ (JERRI) addresses inequalities within research in the areas of gender, diversity and data access in developing research policy.
My research also addresses specific areas of change including social participation, health services, social and financial inclusion, cultural participation, public sphere, e-services, identity and everyday life. These can be clustered under the following headings:
1. Inequality and social innovation, technological change and methodological innovation.
2. Inequality and digital-services, social participation, and identity across the lifecourse.
3. Situating social equality and digital participation in cultural life.
Methodological Innovation
Six of my projects focus on social innovation and technological change in relation to innovations in methodology and research data.
1. The World Universities Network (WUN) funded ‘Web Observatory Project’ developed a data observatory and methodology to create longitudinal and international data sets to foster internationalisation of research to meet some of the grand research challenges at a global level especially global inequalities.
2. The AHRC funded project ‘Beyond the Multiplex’ involves innovation in terms of developing a computational ontological approach in working with qualitative and quantitative data at scale and in-depth.
3. The European Commission-funded project ‘Policy Recommendations for Open Access to Research Data’ in Europe explored the development of Open Access to research data, which involves considering changes in scholarly practices, and its impact is in the RECODE recommendations to European Commission Policy on open access to research data.
4. The AHRC funded project ‘Participation in Search Design’ developed participatory design for academics to improve search in digital resources for archival research. The commercial data and publishing company, ProQuest, is engaging with the outputs of the research in developing new digital search facilities for scholars.
5. My ESRC funded evaluation of the ESRC’s National ‘Digital Social Research Programme’ makes recommendations for the further developments of digital social research for the ESRC.
6. The above projects build on my ESRC funded ‘e-social science project that addressed young people and personal and area based social exclusion’ (2003-2004) that developed innovative digital tools for the social sciences.
Inequalities, Digital Services, Social Participation and Identity
In terms of inequalities, digital services, participation and identity, my projects address participation in health services, financial and social inclusion. These are key domains of social inequality, digital inclusion and participation in society and my research has informed policy in these areas.
1. The ESRC and InnovateUK funded project ‘Mainstreaming Assisted Living Technology’ (MALT) addressed the use of telehealth in home-based healthcare encompassing health divides. The project is informing health policy and practice.
2. The EU COST network is addressing equality in access to travel and transport networks for social inclusion across Europe.
3. MY funded PhD student network ‘PIPIN’ undertook interdisciplinary research about ‘telehealth’ services from sociological, computing and health care perspectives is informing telehealth providers in the development of services within the health inequalities of Yorkshire.
4. The ESRC seminar series ‘Exploring Big Data to Examine Employee Health and Wellbeing: A Seminar Series’ is critically addressing some of the claims made about big data in order to address inequalities of health at work.
5. The Cabinet Office funded project ‘South Yorkshire Digital by Default’ addressed the development and early use of digital wallets for those at risk of financial exclusion. The project involved working with Credit Unions, local services, O2, and the Canadian Company Securekey, and a sample of citizens at risk of financial and social exclusion. This research is currently being developed further by the Cabinet Office to explore how to mainstream digital finance to support social inclusion.
6. I undertook a ‘Process Evaluation of Electronic Local Government in England’ with the University of Newcastle (funded by the Office of Deputy Prime Minister) that resulted in a report that raised the need to address social inequality in the development of e-government for the UK.
7. My ESRC funded doctorate explored the cultural dynamics of the innovation of telematics for local communities. The research focused communication and services in multi-cultural East London. The research informed the police service, and local public and third sector services in developing e-services.
8. Community research drawing on my doctorate research with further funding by London Borough of Newham (1997) focussed community telematics in multi-cultural areas, producing the first configuration of Local Service Centres supported by ICT for people with a range of linguistic and cultural backgrounds. This is still regarded as a beacon development.
9. The project ‘Public participation and sustaining Portal e-services’ (KTOF-HEIF2) involved working with London Connects, the South Yorkshire e@syconnects and Digital Ronneby (Sweden) to further understand inequality in relation to inclusion in public sector and third sector e-services.
10. A pervasive issue in digital communication is privacy, and in this context the UoS Devolved Fund project ‘Identity and Privacy in Digital Contexts’ explored how the concept of identification could inform this area, and was well received by the EU e-forum Privacy Group and the Information Commissioners Office (ICO).
Participation in Cultural Life
The following projects are examples of research that address the relationship between digital change and participation in cultural life.
1. The ‘Beyond the Multiplex: Audiences for Specialised Film in English Regions’ project (funded by AHRC) is addressing how the lack of cultural opportunity interacts with social and digital change at the regional level in the context of access to film and film culture.
2. ‘Q Cinema: Monetising Research-led Public Engagement at the Showroom Cinema’ (funded by the University of Sheffield Research and Innovation Fund and EPSRC) explored the innovation of micropayments in providing extra content about films on mobile apps. This research addressed cultural and economic factors in the dynamics of participation in cultural sector. The project also provided experience for two postdoctoral researchers in working with external partners and developing innovative methods to explore the development of new services to support cultural engagement.
3. Participation in cultural life was also addressed by the IIKE funded project 'How Audiences Form', informing the British Film Institute’s (BFI) national strategy on how to use social media in cultural engagement. It is also informing the development (and thus has impact) of the BFI Film Hub North's specific programme.
4. The ‘Beyond the Label’ project (funded by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council and University of Sheffield (UoS) KT Fund) combined research and knowledge exchange in the development of ‘mobile apps’ to improve young people’s participation on the arts. Working with the Humanities Research Institute and the Courtauld Institute of Higher Education and Gallery the research developed service to support inclusion activities and cultural participation (launched internationally in September 2013).
5. The Barometern Foundation (Sweden) funded project ‘Regional Press in a Global Media Age’ explored the context of a changing digital media environment in terms of the role of the newspapers in facilitating participation in regional and local life.
6. The ESRC Digital Economy Horizon Centre funded project explored the treatment and framing of genocide in the processes of reconciliation and inclusion. It focused on the Rwandan genocide, and has provided new insights into the mediation of identities and participation in post-conflict contexts.
7. My ESRC funded doctorate explored the cultural dynamics of the innovation of community telematics in multi-cultural communities. The cultural dynamic of participation and inequality was a key part of this study in the East End of London (UK).
8. I participated in the pioneering work on digital technology in everyday life in the European Media and Technology in Everyday Life (EMTEL) network (EC funded, PI. Silverstone) and undertook one of the earliest studies of mobile phone use (COST, PI Haddon) when still a postgraduate student (1996-1998).
Grants
Date |
Project |
Funder |
2024-2025 |
Scottish Gov. | |
Mar 2024 - Feb 2025 |
Purpose in Business: empowering employees and enhancing project |
ESRC & TPI |
Dec 2023 - Jul 2024 |
ESRC & TPI Scotland Forum |
|
2023 - 2025 |
Finance 4 All |
UKRI |
2020-25 |
ESRC |
|
2021-24 |
AHRC |
|
2021-22 |
Co-creating connected homes with households to support wellbeing in a rural location |
Research England's Connected Capability Funds |
2021 |
Covid Impact Funding: Beyond the Multiplex Engagement and Impact |
UKRI |
2019-2021 |
ECAS |
|
2018-2020 |
|
Nuffield Foundation |
2019-2020 |
Smart Publics
|
University of Sydney and University of Glasgow PCA |
2019-2020 |
Nordforsk |
|
2017-2021 |
Beyond the Multiplex: audiences for specialised films in English Regions
|
AHRC |
2016-2017 |
Ways of Being in the Digital Age |
ESRC |
2015-2017 |
Exploring Big Data to Examine Employee Health and Wellbeing. |
ESRC |
2018-2019 |
Trust and Personalisation of local news (REGPRESS 2) |
Barometern Foundation (Sweden) |
2015-2017 |
Regional Press in a global digital culture (REGPRESS) |
Barometern Foundation (Sweden) |
2015-2016 |
New Services, New Perspectives: Decision making in remote care |
IIKE Collaborative Research & Development Fund |
2015 |
Web Observatory Project |
World Universities Network |
2014 |
Evaluation of the ESRC Digital Social Research Programme |
ESRC |
2012-2014 |
Participating in Search Design: A Study of George Thomason’s English Newsbooks |
AHRC |
2014 |
How cinema audiences form: social media and specialist film |
IIKE Collaborative Research & Development Fund
|
2014 |
Evaluation of the ESRC Digital Social Research Programme |
ESRC |
2013-2017 |
Social Networks and Travel Behaviour |
EU COST Action TU1305 |
2013-2015 |
Policy Recommendations for Open Access to Research Data in Europe (RECODE) |
European Commission |
2012-2013 |
South Yorkshire Digital by Default Alpha Project |
Cabinet Office (UK) |
2011-2014 |
Mainstreaming Assisted Living Technologies. |
ESRC & Innovate UK |
2011-2014 |
Promoting Independence through Personalised Interactive Technologies (PIPIN) |
Digital Worlds
|
2011
|
Digital Economy and the Mediapolis
|
ESRC Horizons Digital Economy Hub |
2011-2012 |
Beyond the Label |
Museums, Libraries and Archive Council and UoS KT Fund
|
2008 |
Identity and Privacy in Digital Contexts
|
University of Sheffield Devolved Fund
|
2005-2006 |
Public Participation and Sustaining e-Enabled Portal Services |
KTOF-HEIF 2
|
2003-2004 |
e-Social Science Demonstrator Project: Collaborative Analysis of Offenders’ personal and Area-based Social Exclusion |
ESRC |
2002-2004 |
National Evaluation of eGovernment |
Office of Deputy Prime Minister
|
Supervision
PhD students
Lucille Tetley-Brown
Addie McGowan
Sunha Ahn
James Gulgecer
Christina Holtz
Wilko Artale
Louise Warkwick-Booth
Lada Price
Stephen Corbett
Mark Hawker
Matthew Hanchard
Abureza Muzareba
Rupert Knox
- Ahn, SunHa
Social Mental Health and Identities Reconstruction through Digital Communications among Young South African Women and Girls (16-28) around HIV. - Artale, Wilko Mattia
Inequalities in the fourth industrial revolution; negotiating the introduction of innovative work practices - Irandoost, Daniele-Hadi
Public Oversight of the United Kingdom’s Investigatory Powers Bill: Lessons in Effective Oversight of Digital Surveillance for Intelligence Purposes Drawn from Comparative Cases in Southern Africa - Kurt, Seher
Exploring digital authoritarianism in democracies through social media management